Posts Tagged ‘rock’

[Editor’s note: Bernhard Jenny, of the Swiss ETH in Zurich, has released a new software application for generating Swiss-style scree (rock) patterns for topographic maps. It fills user-specified polygons with scree stones. In years past, this technique was a very slow, time consuming manual process. Because of this, most modern maps have abandoned scree depiction or rely on out-of-date raster scans of old maps. This new stand-alone software for Mac, Windows, and Linux allows many GIS inputs like DEMs (DTMs) and settings customize the graphic treatment of dot size, density, and shape. Scree is useful for depicting mountainous areas, often rocky and devoid of vegetation. The rock pattern can indicate gullies and compliment relief shading for sunny and shadow areas by modulating the size and density of dots. Export is provided to PDF format. I hope we start seeing more scree on maps as a result of this software. Thanks Tom!]

Scree: the generated scree dots.Scree Polygons: the polygons that are filled with scree dots.Gully Lines: flow lines extracted from a digital elevation model.Obstacles Mask: No scree dots are placed where this mask is black.Shaded Relief: Modulates the size and density of dots.Gradation Mask: Where this mask is dark, the contrast between bright and dark slopes is enhanced.Large Stones Maks: Dots are enlarged where this maks is dark.Reference Image: An image that is not used for generating scree dots. The reference image included in the sample data sets shows a map section with manually produced scree dots for comparison.